The Grand Street Democrats sent along these photos from the new political club’s first public meeting, which was held last night.

Among those attending were newly elected City Council member Carlina Rivera (District 2) and City Council member Margaret Chin, who was just re-elected to serve a third term in District 1.

The new club covers the 65th Assembly District, Part A (Grand Street cooperatives and a few other surrounding buildings). In September, Lee Berman and Caroline Laskow were elected to serve as local district leaders in Part A. They are co-founders of Grand Street Dems. Berman and Laskow defeated Jacob Goldman and Karen Blatt of the Truman Democratic Club, an organization closely identified with former Assemblyman Sheldon Silver.

Local politics is about to get a little more interesting. There’s a new political club challenging the long-established Truman Democratic Club on the Lower East Side.

Social media channels recently popped up for “Grand Street Democrats.” Two well-known neighborhood residents, Lee Berman and Caroline Laskow, started the new group to take on the Truman Club’s district leaders in the next election cycle.

Berman is on the board of directors of the East River Cooperative and serves as a state committeeman. Laskow is a filmmaker, author (Soup Club Cookbook) and resident of the Seward Park co-operative.

They’ll eventually be running against Karen Blatt and Jacob Goldman, who are currently district leaders in the 65th Assembly District (Part A). The Truman Club is closely associated with former Assemblyman Sheldon Silver, who is now appealing his conviction on federal corruption charges. Judy Rapfogel, Silver’s former chief of staff, is still very much a mover-and-a-shaker within the club.

On their website, Berman and Laskow say it’s time for a change. They believe the local Democratic club should be at the forefront of fighting Donald Trump’s agenda. You can read their pitch here.

District leaders help run local elections, act as ambassadors between constituents and elected officials and serve as community leaders.